Thankyou

We all had a fantastic tour, and have made memories, friendships and musical discoveries that will last a lifetime. Special thanks go to our teachers, Mr Greg Carey, Mr Zach Clarke, Mr Peter Brosnan and Mr Trappett for their care and organisation throughout the tour, and hours of countless work behind the scenes to make the tour go ahead.

San Francisco > Home

This morning we sailed out to Alcatraz and had a fascinating tour. We then had an afternoon of shopping in Union Square, before heading back to Pier 39 to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co for our final tour dinner. It was then off to the airport for our flight back home.

New York > San Francisco

Our 5am wake-up this morning certainly didn't rank amongst our tour highlights, but we managed to get ourselves to JFK airport in time for our flight, despite a hectic luggage check-in. We arrived at San Francisco mid-afternoon, and drove through the city and paid a visit to the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. We then had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe in Pier 39, with live music from none other than our very own Mr Trappett, as well as a Year 9 quartet (with one Year 8), who all sung for a free meal. After dinner we travelled to Yoshi's Jazz Club, and heard the popular 'Tommy Igoe' band.

New York Day #6 - Empire State/Cruise/Village Vanguard

This morning we headed to the Empire State Building and enjoyed the incredible views from the top. We then walked down to the water and boarded our Manhattan Cruise. We enjoyed a relaxing cruise taking in sights like the Statue of Liberty. At night we caught the Subway to Greenwich Village and heard an amazing performance at the Village Vanguard by the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

New York Day #5 - Gospel Church Service

This morning we went to a service at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York, then caught the 'A Train' to Harlem, and attended a gospel church service at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church. The service went for over 2 and a half hours and was a fascinating and enlightening one. Members of the congregation danced, sung, clapped and cried throughout the service, and we tried our best to join in. During the afternoon the group split up, some watched a movie, others cycled through central park and others hit the shops on the upmarket 5th avenue. We also had dinner at the Stardust diner, with the famous singing waitresses, and had some time in Times Square afterwards.

New York Day #4 - NYU/Harlem

This morning we had some great sectional workshops at New York University, lead by first-class musicians including a trombonist from the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra we had heard two nights ago. That evening we went on our jazz tour of Harlem, kicking off with some Middle Eastern food with live entertainment, then a private and very intimate concert at the famous Harlem apartment which has housed a jazz gig every Sunday for the last 22 years. We also stopped of at Minton's, a famous jazz venue that once hosted jazz legends like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. We all had a great time being immersed in the roots of jazz and experiencing some of the Harlem culture.

Community Work

Earlier last week we joined some of the students from Xavier College Prep on their Monday night Ignatian service visits to a trailer park housing estate near Palm Desert. The settlement houses undocumented families from the Purecha Indian tribe from the Michuacan State in the North Western part of Mexico. These families are not registered in Mexico nor in the USA, so technically they do not exist. We were met by the lovely Sister Teresita, a Dominican sister who lives and works with the families of this government sponsored housing estate. We gave a concert for the local students and had lots of fun teaching them about the music. Some of them had never seen instruments before and clearly loved the experience. After the concert we played some soccer and introduced them to Aussie Rules footy.

New York Day #3 - Lincoln Centre Performance and Old Xav Function

This morning we had our big performance at the Lincoln Centre outdoor atrium. Our performances attracted quite a crowd, and both bands played exceptionally well. That evening we were lucky enough to perform at a meeting of Old Xavierians living in New York at Patrick Loftus-Hills (OX 1984) apartment in Tribeca. The boys had a great time playing and chatting to all the Old Xavs and their partners.

New York Day #2 - Improv Workshops/Brubeck Concert

On our second day in New York we had an improvisation workshop at Studio 244 where we composed a piece with sections for both solo and group improvisation. We also attended the 'Life and Music of Dave Brubeck' played by the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra, and a pre-show talk with Dave Brubeck's long-time manager.

New York Day #1

We are now in New York, and have done some sightseeing, visiting the 9/11 memorial, Wall Street and Central Park, as well as seeing 'Matilda' on Broadway. More photos to come.